Insomnia
by FortunesRevolver
Summary: Prequel "Simple Gestures" Suffering from insomia, because of something Stahn said Lion can't seem to get the blond out of his head. Stahn is the type of person Lion hates most, so anything he says shouldn't bother him this much... Right? Implied StahnxLio


**IronyxOfxFate:** Ah, so this is technically a prequel to my other Tales of Destiny fanfic "Simple Gestures". A friend who read it shortly after I posted it, asked if I might write something short explaining Lion's insomnia a little more. It's about 2:30 in the morning here, and I myself cannot seem to fall asleep, and thus I thought, "Can't be a better time to write about someone suffering from insomnia, when you're experiencing it yourself?"

**Judas:** As much as I hate to admit it, that makes a fair amount of sense...

**IronyxOfxFate:** Ah, so you're awake as well?

**Judas:** So it would seem.

**IronyxOfxFate: **Well then, good morning to you. Can't sleep?

**Judas:** I suppose you could say that... It's not that I can't sleep, I'm just not tired at the moment.

**IronyxOfxFate:** Ah, well then, join the club.

**Judas:** I suppose you'd like me to do the disclaimer now?

**IronyxOfxFate:** Eh? You're _offering_ to do it? Are you sure you're not tired?

**Judas:** If you're going to be like that, then I won't.

**IronyxOfxFate:** No no, by all means, please do, I was just surprised, that's all.

**Judas:** I guess I'm just full of mysteries and surprises then.

**IronyxOfxFate:** Indeed you are...

**Judas:** Hmph... -ahem- **IronyxOfxFate **does not own _Tales of Destiny_ or any of it's characters. Nor does she own a copy of any of the games. She has never once placed any of them and the only game she has _ever_ played with myself, in it (though it was my as Lion) was _Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology_. She has only read the several versions of the _Tales of Destiny **manga** _and the first three chapters of the _Tales of Destiny 2_ manga, because it's all she could find in English, so don't get too upset with her if everyone seems OOC, she is trying her best.

**IronyxOfxFate:** Thank you Judas, wanna run downstairs and grab some cocoa while people read?

**Judas:** It's summer...

**IronyxOfxFate:** Yes, well, it's cold in the house, I can't sleep, and I'm thirsty. Thus, I am getting cocoa, you can come, or you can stay here, your choice. -goes downstairs-

* * *

**Insomnia**

"_**Bocchan? It's really late… Shouldn't you be going to sleep soon?**_" Chaltier's gentle voice called, breaking the silence in the room. The swordian master blinked and glanced up from the book he was reading at a wooden desk, looking at the sword sitting on the pillow on his bed,

"I'm fine. I'll go to bed soon Chal, you should get some sleep yourself."

"_**I can sleep at any time…**_" Chaltier protested softly, "_**When you and the others are walking I can easily sleep and catch up on rest, but you…**_"

"I'll be fine, Chal." Lion repeated in a firm tone, "I'll go to bed right after I finish this chapter." Navy-violet eyes glanced at the book on the desk, feeling slightly guilty that he'd said that. He had just started a new chapter, and for once he was thankful Chaltier could not move on his own.

"_**Promise?**_"

"…I'll get in bed as soon as I finish, I…I promise."

"_**…I can stay awake with you, if you'd like.**_" Chaltier replied, sounding worried, "_**I trust you Bocchan, don't get me wrong, but I'd hate to leave you alone like-**_"

"It's fine," Lion muttered, standing up from the desk to walk over to the rapier style sword, placing his hand gently on the hilt, "Go to sleep, Chal…Alright?"

"_**…Yes, Bocchan…**_"

Lion stood beside the bed, watching the sword silently, until he heard faint noises that resembled snoring emitting from the blade, before walking back over to the desk. Sitting back down in the chair, he sighed softly as his eyes began to scan over the pages of the book, not really digesting any of the words he was reading. He had hoped that the book might help distract his tormented mind, and lull him to sleep, but his hopes were in vain. _That_ thought kept coming back to him, over and over.

Sighing softly, he shut the book with a sharp 'snap' glaring down at the cover. _Why?_ He thought, burying his face in his hands, _Why…Did he say something like that? What on earth did he mean…?_

_**Flashback**_

_"Don't be like that, Lion_…"_ Stahn sighed, looking at the young swordsman. Reaching out, he, grabbed Lion's hand in his own, making the younger boy squeak in a very uncharacteristically comical way, "You're very important to me, you know?"_

_**End Flashback**_

A growl of annoyance escaped Lion's lips as he pressed his face further into his hands, frustration coursing through his whole body. _What the hell was that supposed to mean?! 'You're very important to me.' What the hell Stahn!_ Raising his face from his hands, Lion's gaze slowly turned towards the window, watching silently as rain pounded against the glass from the storm outside.

"…Why do I even care so much…?" Lion muttered to no one in particular. When he couldn't come up with an answer for himself, it only frustrated him further.

Turning back to the desk, be buried his face in his arms, eyes screwed shut as he tried to erase the thoughts form his mind, and put the memory behind him, but try as he might, the echo of Stahn's voice saying that line wouldn't leave his mind. Standing up abruptly, Lion walked briskly over to the door of the rented out room, and grabbed the knob, gripping it tightly.

"…Stahn is in the next room," he mutter to himself, "I'll just go over there, ask what he meant, and come back to bed."

However, the idea was dismissed as quickly as it came. Spinning around sharply, Lion stormed over to the padded chair in the corner of his room, where his pack was located, and opened the back with much more force then needed. Digging through its contents, he pulled out his sleepwear and proceeded to strip himself down, before dressing again. He folding his day clothes carefully, before setting them on the table, planning to wash them in the morning before the others woke up.

He walked back to the other side of the room, and turned the desk lamp off, sending the room into darkness. Lion stood still for a moment, blinking slowly as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, before he made his way to the bed, slipping under the covers.

"_You're very important to me…_" Stahn's voice said in his head again, and Lion rolled over in the bed, pulling the covers up over his head.

"Dammit!" He muttered harshly, "Leave me _alone_ you stupid country-hick!" Alas, the thought did not obey Lion's harsh commands and continued to plague his thoughts well into the night.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes to hours, as Lion lay there, silently in the soft inn's bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to ease his mind into a dreamless sleep. He rolled over again, staring dully at the wall across the room, a deep frown etched across his features. _Why do I care so much about what he said?_ Lion asked himself again, hoping that if he could answer the question that bothered him most, his mind might calm enough to allow him to sleep. _People like him…So carefree and happy… It's people like him, that I hate the most. So why the __**hell**__ can't I get what he said out of my mind!_

He rolled over again, and proceeded to stare at the wall the bed was pressed up against. The swordsman glared at the ugly floral wallpaper, as if it were the cause of his current problems, and if he gave it a nasty enough look, they might all just go away.

"_When you have someone who is precious to you… Anything and everything they say affects you more then it would others. When it's someone you __**love**__, every word they say embeds itself into your mind, no matter how unimportant it may seem, and you remember it..._"

"Tch…" Lion turned over in the bed again, looking up at the ceiling, "So now you're in my head too, Marian? I wish… You'd both just go away and let me sleep…" But now it was the words Marian had told him as a small child that were bothering him now.

"_When it's someone you __**love**__, every word they say embeds itself into your mind, no matter how unimportant it may seem, and you remember it, especially if it's something important._"

"So what, Marian?" Lion continued to talk aloud in a soft tone, as if the maid were standing next to him, looking down at him with her soft, motherly gaze, "Are you trying to tell me I'm in _love_ with that idiotic country-boy? Fat chance." Something in Lion's chest constricted itself as he said this, and instantly, panic swept through him.

"…I'm not…" Lion muttered, his voice quivering slightly, "…I'm…Not in love with Stahn, that's stupid." But saying something, and meaning something were two different things, and the feeling in Lion's chest did not seem to agree with his words at all. _Why would I fall for someone like that?_ Lion thought as he turned over, burying his face in his pillow, _He's the sort of person I hate the most…So why…?_

_**Ah,**_ a voice in the back of his head spoke softly, _**But don't they say 'opposites attract'?**_

"Tch, opposites…" Lion scoffed, "We're two different to even fit under 'opposites'."

_**Are you really?**_ The voice coaxed, _**Or are you just telling yourself that? Denial is a very nasty thing, and it can destroy even the strongest if you let it take over you mind…**_

"Shut up!" Lion shouted abruptly, shaking his head rapidly, "Shut up! SHUT UP! You're _wrong!_"

"_**Bocchan?!**_" Chaltier called, his voice worried, "_**Bocchan? Are you alright? It's too dark, I can't see anything, are you okay?**_"

"I'm fine, Chal." Lion called, keeping his tone even, "Just a nightmare."

"…_**Do you need to talk about it?**_" The swordian offered, worried that his master was still awake at this hour, it had to be well past midnight.

"No, thank you, it's alright, just go back to sleep. I'm fine."

"…_**If you say so, goodnight, Bocchan.**_"

"Goodnight, Chal." Lion replied automatically, the last thing he needed was Chaltier finding out about the thoughts that were plaguing his mind. He knew Chaltier only meant good when he would listen to his thoughts and talk to him about them, but right now, Lion just wanted the thoughts gone.

"This is stupid…" Lion muttered, turning back over so that he was in a comfortable position, "I'm going to sleep, and I'm going to sleep _now._ I'll deal with all this in the morning." Alas, for the young swordian master, morning did not seem to come soon enough.

When his mind finally calmed enough to allow sleep to come, the thoughts that had plagued his mind when he was asleep, only seemed to torment him in the form of dreams. No matter what he tried, he could not eliminate the blond form his dreamland. He woke several more times that night, and each time, it only took him longer to fall asleep, and by the time the sun started to come in through the window, Lion was utterly exhausted, and had long since given up on trying to sleep at all.

"…It's…Not true…" he muttered softly to himself, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor, "…I…I don't…I don't…" but the words he wanted to say would not come out, and be continued to stare down at the wooden floor, loosing track of time completely as the hours slipped by.

The harsh reality finally crashed down on him when he heard a knocking on his door, and _his_ voice drifted in through the wood,

"Lion? Lion are you awake? We're about to leave. The others are worried, you're not sick, are you? You've never slept in this late…Do you need any help?" Lion remained silent for several seconds, his heart pounding in his chest as he called out,

"No, I'm fine, I'll be down shortly, I had a late night, that is all." He waited until he heard the footsteps of the blond warrior outside his door fade, before a hand rose to his mouth, something in the corners of his eyes began to string and blur his vision as he muttered softly,

"I…I'm…" a gulp, and soft shudder before a broken voice muttered, _"…I'm in love with Stahn…"_

* * *

**IronyxOfxFate:** -sipping cocoa while looking at screen- Well now, that was a lot shorter then I had expected it to be... And it sort of sucked...

**Judas:** -sips his own cocoa- It _is _almost three in the morning... Not very many people can write the great American novel at this hour...

**IronyxOfxFate:** True...Very true... Well then, I blame my crappy writing on lack of sleep, and the ungodly hour I am writing at...-sighs- Well, I'm off to _try_ and fall asleep at least, kami knows I'll be up again in less then an hour reading fanfiction or posting on a forum... -goes off to dispose of cocoa and brush teeth before going to bed-

**Judas:** ...hm... -continues to sip cocoa- Please review, and be sure to check **IronyxOfxFate's** "Tales of Namco" forum. The link is in her profile, right at the top, so be sure to stop in... She's still looking for someone to role-play as Stahn, since she uses Lion, and is thus willing to RP 'shonen-ai' with her... So if anyone wants to do so, they are fully welcome, as it is (at the time of posting this story) Stahn is not taken, but there are many others from the game (and the other games) open as well.


End file.
